The Virginia Tech community is struggling to come to terms with yet another tragedy, after cops arrested three in connection to a promising young student's death.
Samanata Shrestha, a 21-year-old biology major, was identified as the victim of a homicide that took place this weekend, Blacksburg police confirmed to The News.
Details of the grisly murder are still emerging. But cops have already arrested three people for their involvement in the crime.
The Nepalese Student Association and the Epsilon Sigma Alpha fraternity are holding vigils in Shrestha’s honor.
22-year-old Jessica Michelle Ewing was charged with one count of second-degree murder. 23-year-old Keifer Kyle Brown, a recent graduate of the school, and 23-year-old Michael Christian Heller, a Blacksburg resident, were both charged with Accessory after the Fact. Cops accused Brown of helping to transport, conceal or alter the dead body, the Roanoke Times reports.
The relationship between the suspects and the victim, as well as a motive for the killing, was still under investigation on Wednesday, Lt. Nathan O'Dell confirmed to The News.
Jessica Ewing is a senior who lives off-campus in Blacksburg, Va., and was arrested in relation to the death of Samanata Shrestha.
The case began as a simple welfare check. Her parents, Dr. Manik Lal Shrestha and Mrs. Rajshree, last heard from their daughter on Friday. But they couldn’t reach her on Saturday. Police started a homicide investigation on Sunday, sending out an alert for a black 2004 Mercedes.
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The car, which belonged to the victim, was found on Monday. Virginia Tech’s school newspaper Collegiate Times is reporting that Shrestha was found in the car with marks around her neck that indicated that she was strangled. Police have not confirmed that report.
Keifer Kyle Brown is accused of helping to conceal the victim's dead body. He was charged with accessory after the fact.
Ewing and Brown were arrested on Monday morning. Heller's arrest was made on Wednesday.
Ewing is a senior at the school, double majoring in fisheries science and biological sciences. Brown graduated last August with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. They are both being held without bond. Brown is in the Montgomery County Jail, but Ewing has been transferred to the Western Virginia Regional Jail.
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Montgomery Co. VA Regional Jail
Jessica Michelle Ewing, 22, and Keifer Kyle Brown, 23, were arrested early Monday in connection to the homicide of Samanata Shrestha.
In an open letter to the community, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said that one teacher described Shrestha as a “faculty member’s dream” because of her love of learning.
“That an inspiring young woman would lose her life to violent crime hurts beyond belief,” Steger wrote.
Shrestha was a senior from Vienna, Va. The honors student had dreams of going to medical school.
Jessica Michelle Ewing, 22, is charged with the murder of Samanata Shrestha.
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The Epsilon Sigma Alpha fraternity at Virginia Tech and the Nepalese Student Association are holding a candlelight vigil for Shrestha on Thursday. The woman was an active part of both these organizations.
The death is particularly tragic for the young woman’s family because Shrestha’s parents are still recovering from the death of another child.
In December 2008, the parents lost 22-year-old daughter Manisha Shrestha to a motorcyle accident in the family’s native country of Nepal.